Mysterious black Celica
by Cloudstrife676
Summary: The story of Tak and a strange racer
1. The first encounter

Tak climbed into his car. It was a white Toyota Trueno. He fastened the racing harness and revved the engine. His competition was going to be tough. A black Toyota Celica with a mysterious driver that nobody seemed to know. The siren sounded and Tak hit the accelerator.

The car's tyres started rotating at a huge speed. Smoke was coming from them. Finally the car lurched forward and started moving. The engine made a huge roar and Tak's car moved parallel to his opponent's. Tak switched quickly to second gear and His car moved to the lead. He sped down Akina Mountain towards the finish line.

Akina was known for its sharp turns. His opponent moved to the front and then slowed down rapidly. Tak was forced to stop using his handbrake. He sped around the corner and moved to the lead again. The Celica was sticking tight to his tail. He tried to shake it off but it was too fast.

The next corner was approaching and he hit the hand break again. He could see the finish line now and all his friends waiting and cheering. The Celica sped past him at crazy speeds. However at that speed there was no way it could make the last corner. The car slowed town and span out of control. Tak dodged the spinning car and made the turn.

He activated the hand break and the car stoped. All his friends moved around the car cheering and he got out. He looked back only to see the black Celica was gone. Who was the mysterious driver?

Later that day Tak was hanging out with his friends in the car park. "You whipped that guy's butt Tak," said Iggy. "We won't be seeing him around here anymore". "Did you guys see where he went after the race?" asked Tak. "Nope," responded Iggy. "He ran off before we got another glimpse of him". "Damn, I didn't catch his name".

All of a sudden they heard he roar of an engine echoing in the garage. They turned around to see whet was happening. "ROAR," they heard the car again. Then they heard the screech of tyres on the cement paving. All they saw were the beams of light emitting from a black Celica. It was him...

Everyone scrambled to their cars and screeching was heard from their many tyres trying to get out of the way. Tak jumped into his Trueno and fastened his racing harness.

He started the car and went at full speed towards the Celica. The two cars were heading towards each other at amazing speeds. At the last moment Tak veered to his left and did an 1800 spin the Celica turned to it's left as well but kept going for the exit ramp.

Tak gave pursuit of the mysterious black car. The Celica turned onto a main road during traffic congestion. There was little room to move but just enough space to weave in between various cars and drive with one wheel on the sidewalk. The sharp turns at Akina Mountain had been good practice for conditions like this.

The moment the mysterious driver got to the next intersection, he put his foot down and headed for the highway. "At this hour the highway would have been extremely dangerous," thought Tak to himself. He had to stop before someone got hurt. He pulled the hand break and the car stoped to a halt. The mysterious driver drove off onto the highway and left Tak on the ramp.

Moments later the black Celica stopped a few meters way from Tak's car. The driver got out. It was a mysterious youth with jet-black hair. He wore a black coat & sunglasses. He looked back at Tak who was still in his car. He gave him a nod of acknowledgment and a slight wave. Tak was amazed and perplexed at the same time.

A person who drove like the mysterious driver must be being hunted by the police. However, he still had the time to congratulate an opponent for a good race. "That man must have a long line of honour of racing to do something like that," said Tak to himself.

The driver got back into his car and drove off. Tak got the feeling that he would be seeing a lot more of this driver.


	2. The Speed Pirates

Tak stood at the foot of Akina Mountain. It was snowing hard. He had no plans for racing in those conditions. He had come up there to think. This was the first time he had stood there since his race with the mysterious man. He remembered the race. Every corner the man had made was perfect. He stayed in the middle of the road for the whole race. Almost as if he had been driving a slot car. Then the part he thought was the weirdest. How the Celica had just disappeared into thin air. If it had made its way up the mountain again then surely his friends at the top of the mountain would have seen him. He also remembered the way they had bonded without words. The strong stare the man had given him just before he had escaped. Just as if to say "thank you", or "until next time". Tak had realised that he had been no ordinary driver. His skill had exceeded that of even the best drivers in the area. The only place where people drove with that skill was the city centre. There, racing was not a pastime, but a religion. There everyone had a car. Driving had evolved out of drifting. Now there were drag racers. Their aim was to get as fast as possible on a long stretch of pavement. They had evolved with the introduction of American cars and parts. Hydraulics and Nitrous Oxide had been imported from America. Nitrous was an extra burst of speed in a bottle. Tak could not keep up with the city racers even if he tuned his Trueno to it's full potential. There they used cars like the fabled Toyota Supra© and other flashy cars. The cars were literally street rockets. Here at his home Tak could only dream of owning one. But he knew he had to find the driver of the Celica. Tak would have to drive all the way to Tokyo to try and find the driver.

In a large car park complex in the centre of Tokyo, Red sat on the hood of his Toyota Celica. He and the other racers from his team sat in a circle of cars. Among them sat Ray, a tall blonde and muscled American who owned a gold Mitsubishi Eclipse©. Alex, a tall scrawny Asian man in a black suit and dark sunglasses who owned a white Mazda RX-8 with a carbon hood. And Debbie, an Asian girl who owned a neon green Nissan 350-Z. "So Red, How was your little trip to the country?" asked Ray in a mocking tone. "Shut up"! Red replied. "The competition there is better than I expected. They aren't all a bunch of country bumpkins". "Maybe it's not them getting better but instead it's you loosing your touch," Teased Ray. "That's enough," shouted Red. "One more word out of you and you're gonna be kicked out of the Speed Pirates"! The speed pirates were the name of the racing team Red, Ray, Alex, and Debbie belonged to. They were the premiere racing team in the city. They beat everyone at all motor-sports in the city. "So, did you find any talent?" asked Alex. "There was this one boy," replied Red. "He was ok I guess. I went easy on him. He shows potential at drift but I don't know if his car can handle a drag race. It was an old hatchback Trueno," "Ha! Did his mommy buy that for him?" asked Ray. "Shut up," said Debbie. "I've heard enough from you. Why are you even here?" "He is awfully annoying," Replied Alex. "It seems no one hear wants you around anymore said Red still casually sitting on the hood of his Celica. "Why don't you leave now with your dignity?" "You can't just kick me out!" protested Ray. "I'M THE BEST RACER THIS TEAM HAS! I'M NOT LEAVING!" Ray was now shouting. "The only way you can prove that you are worth keeping is to race me," Red said while getting to his feat from sitting. "You said I was loosing my touch, now you can prove it". "Oh come on red. You know I was just joking", Ray pleaded. "This is your last chance", replied Red. "Prove yourself!" Red got into the Celica and started the engine. "You're making a huge mistake," pleaded Red as he got into his car. As the Celica and the Eclipse lined up on the pavement Ray was praying to win. His entire racing career was lying on this one race. Finally, both cars launched themselves off the pavement and started to accelerate. They shifted gears perfectly every time not allowing the engine to overheat. Finally both cars were in fifth. Ray let out a spray of nitrous that put him in front of Red. However, Red had three bottles of nitrous instead of Ray's one bottle system. Red's car jumped in front of Ray and by the time he crossed the finish line he was more that five seconds ahead. Both cars screeched to a halt. Ray opened the door to his car and collapsed onto the floor. "No… NO!!! This can't be!" Red got out of his car and strolled over to his victim. "Get up you maggot!" He yelled as he kicked Ray in the gut. Ray crawled to his car and turned on the engine. "You'll be sorry! I'll show you! You're all idiots!" Ray reversed away from the finish line. Just then Alex and Debbie arrived in their cars. "So, how much did you kick his ass by?" asked Debbie. "5.86," seconds replied Red casually. "Ha! He soooo deserved it!" replied Debbie. "Yeah," said Alex.

"Why don't you tell us about this kid you met at Akina"…

"Tak hoped inside his car and lay a map in the passenger seat. He traced a path to Tokyo with a pencil. "Ok I'm ready." Tak turned the key in the ignition and the engine inside his Toyota Trueno GT-Apex AE-86 roared to life. He drove into the horizon towards Tokyo…


	3. Encounter with Ray

Ray held onto the steering wheel of his Mitsubishi Eclipse and culched his aching guts in his other hand. "Those damn idiots! I could have beaten them. All of them. They just got lucky that time." He looked briefly into his mirror and realised his nose was bleeding. He looked back to the road and saw that he had swerved to the wrong side of the road. He was now all over the road. He tried to return to the right side of the road but just as he did, he was sandwiched by two cars. Ray's safety harness held him tight in his seat. However, his head hit the metal steering wheel and he was knocked unconscious. His car flipped into the air and landed upside down. The roof crushed him inside his car…

Tak stoped at the GF gas station to re-fuel his Trueno. He was serviced by his friend Iggy. "Yo Tak, what's up?" he asked. "Fill her up to the limit Iggy, I've got a long trip ahead," replied Tak. "Where to?" asked Iggy. "Tokyo," Iggy looked puzzled for a while. "Why would you go there?" He asked. "I'm trying to find that guy I raced in the black Celica," Tak said. "Why would you want to go after that creep?" asked Iggy. "He nearly ran us down last time we saw him! I'm still angry at him!" Tak got out of the car and went inside the gas station to buy snacks for the long trip. Tak purchased the snacks and Iggy was finished filling up Tak's car. Tak payed Iggy the correct price and returned to his car and drove off to Tokyo.

Red sat in his empty apartment with nothing to do. All of a sudden the phone rang. He picked it up and it was Alex. "Hey Red, I've been wondering, how about we pay the kid a visit…"

The next day Tak arrived in Tokyo and rented a room at a cheap Motel. He got a map of the city from the receptionist. He ate breakfast and went downstairs to his car. He began his first day of trying to find the Mysterious black Celica. Tak searched almost all of Tokyo until he found a couple of guys in a modified RX-7. He pulled over asked them if they had heard of the Celica. They instantly recognised the description. "You're looking for Red, of the Speed Pirates! You're not thinking of challenging him in that piece of junk are you? Do you have a map?" Tak produced the map he had received from the reception desk. One of the guys in the RX-7 took out a red marker and made a serried of circles on the map. "Here's the Pirate's hideout." The man pointed at a rather large building on the map. "If you don't find them there then you should check out these street racing hotspots on the map." Tak thanked them and drove off to the hideout…

Red, Alex and Debbie raced towards Akina at full speed carefully dodging all the traffic in their way. They kept in contact through a short message system or SMS each of them had fitted in their cars. Red lead the convoy. Suddenly a message appeared on the screen. "This kid better be worth going all the way to Akina – Debbie," It said. "Don't worry," he typed back. "He's worth it." Moments later the message appeared on Debbie's screen…

When Tak arrived at the hideout, the car park was completely empty. He decided to check out the racing hotspots. He checked them one by one and he found no sign of the Celica. He finally decided to check the hideout one more time before he returned to his motel room. It looked empty like the first time he checked there. Then suddenly he heard screeching of tyres and saw headlights. However, it was not who he expected. It wasn't the black Celica but instead a Neon green battered Mitsubishi Eclipse! It Sped towards Tak at tremendous speed. Tak had just enough time to jump out of the way as it span into an 1800 turn. When the car stopped a burley American man came out. He was hurt and bleeding. He stumbled over to the front of his car and supported himself on the hood. "You must be the brat Red was talking about," he said. "My name's Ray and you are the reason that I was kicked out of the speed pirates. I'm going to get my revenge you twerp!" He returned to his car and sped towards Tak again. Tak jumped out of the way and dashed towards his car. The Eclipse sped past him and Tak gave pursuit. Ray led Tak to a Drag racing strip. It was deserted. Ray stoped at the starting line. Tak followed Ray and stopped on the line too. "OK punk!" Ray shouted. This is it! If I win you give my your car, forget about your race with Red, forget about finding him, and stop racing forever! Got It?" "And if I win?" Tak asked. "I'll help you find Red," Ray replied. All at once Tak recalled watching a drag race on television. He had never drag raced before but he knew how. He was going into his supernatural racing state. He concentrated hard on the finish line. The siren sounded and both cars went flying off the mark. Ray was ahead in his crippled Eclipse and was laughing. Tak tried to get ahead but Ray's car was too fast. However, Ray made a vital mistake. His car was too damaged to handle a shot of nitrous but he pushed the button anyway. Ray's car flew ahead and when he reached the finish line he stepped on the brakes… Nothing happened. He tried again but still the car would not stop. He finally found himself heading at high speed into a wall. What was left of the car hit and the nitrous tank made the car explode in a ball of green fire. Tak screeched to a halt. He stared at the fire for a while. He didn't feel sorry for Ray. He hadn't had the connection with him like he had with Red. Ray raced for money. Not honour like he did in the mountains. Suddenly Tak's cell phone rang…


End file.
